Is this the Peter Dutton version of "Children Overboard"*

Australian Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Liberal MP for Dixon and multi-millionaire Peter Craig Dutton during a Sky News interview on 20 April  2017:

“There was an alleged incident where three asylum seekers were alleged to be leading a local five-year-old boy back toward the facility”

ABC TV Insiders, excerpt, 23 April 2017:

CASSIDY: I want to ask you about the recent disturbance at Manus Island. You recently linked that to a situation where you said that a 5-year-old boy was led away by three asylum seekers and that caused the mood to elevate quite quickly. Now, that's not true, is it?

DUTTON: Of course, it is true.

CASSIDY: It's not true.

DUTTON: It is true. And the briefing that I've had is particularly succinct and clear.

CASSIDY: Who gave you this information?

DUTTON: Well Barrie, I have senior people on the island. We also have obviously, significant contacts with the governor and people of Manus.

CASSIDY: You didn't speak with the police commander, clearly?

DUTTON: I can give you the facts in relation to it or you can take the Twitter version.

CASSIDY: Well let me give you what I understand the facts to be. The boy wasn't five, he was ten. It didn't happen on the day of the disturbance, it happened a week before the disturbance and there's CCTV footage outside of tent number one that shows the boy went inside and the people are packing fruit into plastic bags. They gave him the fruit and he left.

DUTTON: So let me give you the facts. The fact is that as people would understand, Manus Island is home not only to the regional processing centre but also to the naval base there as well. The point that I was making and certainly the clear advice that I received was that there had been a ramping up in terms of the mood on the ground over a period of time which included a sexual assault, to which you've made no reference, separate to any incident that we're talking about here.

CASSIDY: The sexual assault, that you're talking about two people have been charged with sexual assault but deny the charges.

DUTTON: So as you imagine ...

CASSIDY: You're an ex-Queensland policeman. You know that you're presumed innocent don't you?

DUTTON: Of course, but you're going to the mood on the ground which is not something that you need to prove beyond reasonable doubt in court. You're talking about what the elevation of the mood was on the ground and it was elevated by these allegations around this sexual assault. Now let that go through the courts -

CASSIDY: Elevated by the incident involving the 5-year-old boy?

DUTTON: Well just let me finish. So you've got the sexual assault, which as you say, can be heard in court. Everybody deserves innocence and I don't make any judgement about that. But I'm saying that that it did elevate the mood on the ground. And second to that, there is this incident which is being investigated by the police. Now, that will run its course.

CASSIDY: The police are investigating this incident around the 5-year-old boy?

DUTTON: Yes, they are.

CASSIDY: Do they understand that he's 10 and not 5?

DUTTON: I'll leave the detail to them.

CASSIDY: The detail is important in these matters?

DUTTON: It is. But if your claim is that the mood on the ground hadn't been elevated ...

CASSIDY: It's not my claim. The police commander says that there's CCTV footage showing that the boy was waiting outside the gate, he was looking for food. Food was placed into a plastic bag and given to him. He was ten years old and it happened a week before the disturbance and he left. That's the extent of it. Now how is that relevant to anything?

DUTTON: Well Barrie, I'm not sure whether you can be the judge, jury and executioner in this matter.

CASSIDY: The police commander said this.

DUTTON: Let's allow the police investigation to be conducted.

CASSIDY: Well why didn't you do that? Why didn't you let that happen?

DUTTON: I received different advice from that.

CASSIDY: Why didn't you let the investigation happen before you pre-empted it?

DUTTON: I was asked why the mood had elevated on the ground on Manus Island. These two incidents fed directly into that. That is indisputable. So if you're asking me about why there was an elevation of the angst between those that are living, including on the naval base on Manus, this was part of it. And that was the clear advice to me.

CASSIDY: Do you accept that you got some of the information badly wrong?

DUTTON: No, I do not. And again -

CASSIDY: The age of the boy? The intentions, whether he was led into the facility? He went in and took a plastic bag of fruit and left?

DUTTON: Again Barrie, I think that there are facts that I have that you don't so why don't we let the police investigation run its course and allow them some independent analysis of it because if you're asking me why the mood elevated, these two incidents fed into it and I have that on very good authority on the island. The parents of the boy involved in the incident might have a different view to the one that you have read off tweets and that's fine.

CASSIDY: The police commander said that this happened because there was a soccer game going on beyond a six o'clock curfew and that's what caused the disturbance and he said that some of the PNG soldiers were drunk. And yet, you put all of the blame on the asylum seekers.

DUTTON: I didn't put any blame anywhere. I was asked a question as to why the mood was elevated, I've answered that question honestly and on advice. In relation to the soccer game and the incident otherwise, yes absolutely, that's part of the facts of the whole lead-up to this unfortunate incident. Now, it's being properly investigated by the chief of defence in PNG, by the police commissioner, as it should. I also make the point -- in that interview, which you don't note, I make the point that shots being fired or behaviour as it is reported is completely unacceptable and it should be investigated. I made that point, which you neglect to make reference to. And it is important that this investigation take place, that it is properly looked at and if people are charged or whatever comes out of it, as you say, let them have their fair day in court.

CASSIDY: What would clear it up and it would help to clear up any reflection on you over your version of events is the CCTV footage. Would you allow that to be released so that everybody can be clear on what happened?

DUTTON: Barrie, the police investigation will take place -

CASSIDY: And after that, do you think that it would be appropriate to release the footage?

DUTTON: - if people are charged in relation to it to allow the course to be run.

CASSIDY: But if there's no charges and nothing happened here? Are you happy to have that footage released?

DUTTON: Well we will continue to release footage as is the normal practice now. I'm not making an exception one way or the other in relation to this case. If it is appropriate for it, and that's been the practice in the past, then that will happen. But that is an issue for the PNG Government. They run Manus Island, as you know. We inherited the mess of Manus Island from the Labor Party. We've stopped the boats and we want to get people off Manus island as quickly as possible. We've done that in terms of the negotiation with the US. Kevin Rudd's deal with the PNG Government had no outcome at all for people on Manus island. We are not adding to people on Manus island. We're not repopulating through new boat arrivals because we have stopped boats. But our job now is to get people off. We're doing that as quickly as possible. But we face all of the barriers in terms of returns that we spoke about before……

Given this performance (and a previous instance) one has to wonder about the quality of any evidence given to the courts by Mr. Dutton during the 1990s when he served as a Queensland police officer in the Drug Squad, Sex Offenders Squad and with the National Crime Authority.

*"Children Overboard" – a political lie widely disseminated by the Howard Government after an incident in the early afternoon of 6 October 2001, at about 100 nautical miles north of Christmas Island, the HMAS Adelaide intercepted 'SIEV 4' (Suspected Illegal Entry Vehicle 4), a vessel carrying 223 passengers and crew…..With the news of the incident emerging during the heat of a federal election campaign, the Government was soon under political and media pressure to produce evidence to substantiate the claim that children had been thrown overboard [by asylum seekers]. At the same time, however, doubts about the veracity of the original report started to emerge….Minister for Defence, Mr Reith, follows with a radio interview where he 'officially releases' the photographs and mentions the video, claiming they verify the children overboard story…..Admiral Barrie contacts Mr Reith and tells him that he has been advised that the photographs do not represent the incident of 7 October…..a 'political solution' had been arrived at 'not to raise' the issue publicly.

One Nation: political 'sins' like chickens come home to roost

On 3 March 2017 ABC Television ran a Four Corners program titled “Please Explain”.

It opened with presenter Sarah Ferguson stating:

Welcome to Four Corners.

Nine months ago, Pauline Hanson was riding high. Elected to the Senate, along with 3 of her One Nation colleagues, she created out of thin air a powerful new block on the crossbenches of the fractious upper house.

It was an extraordinary comeback for a woman whose first venture into politics more than twenty years ago ended in ignominy, dumped from parliament, and jailed after a conviction for electoral fraud that was later overturned on appeal.

Last month, in the Western Australian State election, Hanson's One Nation Party won three upper house seats but polled far lower than predicted.

Bitter party infighting in Western Australian and Queensland has seen former One Nation powerbrokers and disgruntled candidates come forth to condemn the woman they'd supported and pinned their hopes on.

It was this kind of internal division that helped pull One Nation apart in the late 1990's.

And just like 20 years ago there are claims that a powerful advisor has too much sway over Pauline Hanson - her chief of staff James Ashby.

So are the wheels coming off the One Nation wagon?

Reporter Caro Meldrum-Hanna ventures inside One Nation for tonight's report.

Then well into the broadcast this went too air:

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Ian Nelson, a 20-year party veteran was the State President, and also the Treasurer. He resurrected Pauline Hanson in 2014 and returned her to politics.

But after her election success, both he and Saraya Beric were left without a job.

The losers of a bitter internal power struggle that's now split One Nation.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Why are you no longer working for One Nation?

IAN NELSON: Basically, James Ashby, two words, James Ashby. He couldn't have me around, I was warned, I was warned months before it happened, so James Ashby couldn't have me around and he just poisoned Pauline against me.

SARAYA BERIC: I'm very disappointed in the person he turned out to be.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: James Ashby seen here on election night, became Pauline Hanson's right hand man very quickly.

To understand his meteoric rise, you have to go back to late 2014.

When Ian Nelson says James Ashby rang him out of the blue, with an irresistible offer: Cut price professional printing for federal and state election campaigns for the entire party.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Did you run any checks or . . .

IAN NELSON: No.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: On who James Ashby was?

IAN NELSON: No. Everybody could blame me for that, no I didn't, I just thought what a kind offer, I've had you know, I have offers simular but this one was a bit funny.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: A quick online search would have revealed James Ashby is no stranger to controversy.

In 2012, he accused his then boss, speaker of the house Peter Slipper, of sexual harassment.

Ultimately James Ashby didn't pursue the case, but it was one of the ugliest political scandals in recent times.

IAN NELSON: I was there to watch Pauline's back and, when I had time I was going to vet people, before they get too close to Pauline but I absolutely failed miserably on that one.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: You failed to vet James Ashby?

IAN NELSON: Yeah. Had I have known what I know today, there was no way I would've put him in, let him anywhere near her.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: In early 2015, James Ashby was appointed to the party's executive.

SARAYA BERIC: James was looking at different ways to promote Pauline and the party and he came up with the idea of getting an aeroplane, a little plane that she could get around logistically, and you know he said the media will go for it, it was a bit of a gimmick and I actually agreed with him.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: How the party managed to pay for the extravagant purchase has remained shrouded in secrecy.

PAULINE HANSON, 19 JANUARY, 2017: We have never received huge donations from anyone in all the time. Our donations come from the small people.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: One of the party's biggest recent donors is wealthy Victorian property developer, the director of VicLand Corporation, Bill McNee.

Four Corners has obtained emails revealing how he contacted One Nation offering financial support.

One Nation's head office responded in February 2015.

EMAIL, 27th February 2015: Pauline ... would like to meet with you if you are still able to travel to QLD. May I also ask for your phone number to pass on to Pauline?'

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Bill McNee wrote back:

EMAIL, 27TH February 2015: 'I would be delighted ... I would like to become a major financial supporter of your party...Let me know when suits for me to come up and meet with you all.'

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Bill McNee followed up again two weeks later, keen to meet:

EMAIL: 16 March 2015: Sorry to be pushy...I'm so eager to offer support to a party that has the courage to stand up for ordinary Australians and give us a voice.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: They met one month later on the 11th of April 2015 at Pauline Hanson's home for a roast dinner. Ian Nelson was there.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Did James Ashby ask Bill McNee for a plane?

IAN NELSON: He just kept saying I'm a pilot, you know w- we should be flying Pauline around and and then Bill said, 'Well, we'll have to get you a plane then'. That's how that conversation went.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Two days later James Ashby wrote this text message to a party official:

TEXT MESSAGE, 13 April 2015: We need to talk to Bill about funding it.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: The official responded:

TEXT MESSAGE: 5 May 2015: 'We had a good chat with Bill. I think Pauline's going to go for the plane'

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Eight days later, donor Bill McNee sent this email to Pauline Hanson and James Ashby:

EMAIL, 13 May 2015: 'James we will sort out the plane tomorrow as well.'

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: And after that message was sent between James Ashby and Bill McNee did a plane arrive?

IAN NELSON: Yes, very shortly afterwards, brand new Jabiru.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: How was that funded- the purchase of that aeroplane?

IAN NELSON: Well, after Bill McNee said, 'Yes we'll have to get you a plane', to my understanding that means, well all right, I'll buy you a plane. But as it turns out, Bill McNee didn't buy the plane, but as I understand it, he transferred the funds to James Ashby, not the Party, not Pauline, but to James Ashby.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Bill McNee has denied funding the purchase of the plane.

He's told Four Corners: "There has been no financial support or assistance to any political party outside what is publicly disclosed and already well known."

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Ian Nelson, the party's state treasurer, says he asked Pauline Hanson to explain how the purchase of the plane had been funded.

IAN NELSON: I said where's the plane, there's no evidence of it anywhere, whose plane is it and she said it's my plane, I said fine, okay, well then, you've got to declare it and she said, 'No, don't worry about it, don't worry about it'. I said 'Well, did Bill McNee buy that plane for the party, did he buy it for you, or did he buy it for James Ashby, and she just looked at me and walked away.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Four Corners has obtained a copy of these 2015 insurance documents for the Jabiru plane.

They confirm the plane was insured in James Ashby's name. It's listed purpose? Business.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: What is the primary purpose or use of that plane?

IAN NELSON: The One Nation Party. To ferry Pauline around, to the little towns and properties.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Was that gift declared?

IAN NELSON: No.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Under the rules, should that have been disclosed?

IAN NELSON: If I did it, yes I would've. If I'd had anything to do with the transaction. I said, 'Yes disclose it for heaven's sakes, because it's been used to ferry Pauline Hanson around the state, so it's really a party matter, so it should've been disclosed.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: The acquisition of the plane wasn't the only thing to worry party Treasurer Ian Nelson.

In 2015 Bill McNee's company, VicLand Business, made donations totalling almost $70,000 to One Nation.

When it came time to declare them, Ian Nelson says James Ashby rang him, questioning the way he'd declared the donations to the Queensland Electoral Commission.

IAN NELSON: You know, he said this is confidential, all these matters are confidential and ah they they're for our business only and I said no, that's not quite right, the rules and regulations state that we have to declare any amount of money over a thousand dollars, we have to declare it, and he said well can't you just put 'anonymous donor'? And I said, no, you can't do that, I'll end up in jail.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: To be clear, James Ashby asked you to list a donor as anonymous instead of declaring the name?

IAN NELSON: Yes.

CARO MELDRUM-HANNA: Rather than disclosing who it is, in contravention . . .

IAN NELSON: In contravention of all the rules and regulations, yes. Later on, Pauline had a bit of a go at me about the same thing.

I said, 'You've got to declare everything', and she just kept calling me an obstructionist, you know, 'Why are you doing it like this?' They just don't understand, and now they're running a party, so God help them all.

And the chickens began flying back to the roost.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 April 2017:

On Tuesday, Labor Senator Murray Watt wrote to Australian Electoral Commission head Tom Rogers to investigate whether the matters raised on the program should be referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

"The program contained serious allegations that PHON, Pauline Hanson and her Chief of Staff, James Ashby, may have breached financial disclosure obligations under the Commonwealth Electoral Act," Senator Watt said in his letter.

"In the broadcast, former party treasurer Ian Nelson alleges that PHON failed to declare a significant donation from property developer Bill McNee, which the party used to fund the purchase of a Jabiru light aircraft. According to the manufacturer's website, the cost of a new Jabiru light aircraft can exceed $100,000."

Senator Watt said the allegations were "very serious".

"As you are aware, a breach of financial disclosure obligations under the Act may be a criminal offence," he said.

"Furthermore, any attempt to subvert these critical measures, which seek to ensure transparency and accountability in campaign financing, threatens to undermine public confidence in our system of democracy.

"I ask you to investigate these serious allegations, and refer them to the Director of Public Prosecutions, if appropriate."

A spokeswoman for Special Minister of State Scott Ryan said he had spoken to the AEC about the program but had not yet requested an investigation.

Senator Ryan will hold a follow-up conversation with AEC officials over coming days, she said. 

Activist group GetUp! has also sent a separate request to the AEC to investigate the matter.

4:02pm

Following a request on Tuesday from Labor senator Murray Watt, an AEC spokesman said: "The AEC is aware of allegations made on Monday evening's Four Corners  program and through other media outlets.

"This information is now being reviewed in the context of the disclosure provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918."

The spokesman said the AEC undertakes regular compliance reviews and would consider "information placed in the public domain" as part of its inquiries.

* Cartoon by Pat Oliphant

The real reason the Turnbull Government is seeking to intimidate Centrelink clients who speak out?

North Coast Voices readers may have noticed mainstream and social media debating the ethics of Turnbull Government Minister for Human Services, Alan Tudge, and a department in his portfolio releasing personal and perhaps sensitive protected information about a Centrelink client to journalists.

Readers may also have noticed that in Senate estimates last week Secretary of the Department of Human Services, Kathryn Campbell, told the Community Affairs Reference Committee that Centrelink undertook surveillance of social media to identify clients critical of its policies, procedures or specific actions and reported them to the minister.

One doesn't have to look hard for a likely reason why this was such an easy admission to make at a Senate hearing being covered by the media.

It could only have a chilling effect on sometimes already stressed individuals who have been victims of the flawed Centrelink automated debt recovery system, so that they would think twice about coming forward as witnesses during the current Senate inquiry into this same system.

Snapshots from the Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee media release:

Click on image to enlarge

The Turnbull Government doesn't even bother to pretend it cares about an individual's privacy anymore

Buzz Feed, 25 January 2017:

According to the Herald Sun, in May a contractor had stumbled upon the open dumpster outside the recently closed Melbourne office belonging to self-dubbed “job queen” and Liberal donor Sarina Russo.

The open dumpster was overflowing with thousands of jobseekers’ confidential files which, according to the report, included, “bank details, phone numbers, home addresses, employment histories and education records”.

It was outside the government-contracted agency of Queensland businesswoman Sarina Russo, who in recent weeks has been thrust into the limelight for her cosy relationship with the most senior members of the federal government.

Sussan Ley was forced to resign when it emerged she’d been flouting the generous politicians’ expenses system, including charging the taxpayer for attending Russo’s opulent NYE parties.

BuzzFeed News has also reported on Russo’s personal access to the prime minister and senior government ministers, and the eye-watering $600 million contract she won in 2015, which led to her expanding from 25 Australian offices to 95 in the space of 90 days.

At the time of the dumpster incident, employment minister Michaelia Cash ……announced her department would launch an investigation into how the confidential data had found its way onto the footpath.

Responding to a request from BuzzFeed News about the results of the departmental “investigation”, a spokesperson said the matter was now resolved, with the blunder blamed on “human error”.

"A lie, is a lie, is a lie!"

America’s dilemma writ large on Facebook, 22 January 2017 :

Dan Rather 14 hrs

These are not normal times. These are extraordinary times. And extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

When you have a spokesperson for the president of the United States wrap up a lie in the Orwellian phrase "alternative facts”…

When you have a press secretary in his first appearance before the White House reporters threaten, bully, lie, and then walk out of the briefing room without the cajones to answer a single question…

When you have a President stand before the stars of the fallen CIA agents and boast about the size of his crowds (lies) and how great his authoritarian inaugural speech was….

These are not normal times.

The press has never seen anything like this before. The public has never seen anything like this before. And the political leaders of both parties have never seen anything like this before.

What can we do? We can all step up and say simply and without equivocation. "A lie, is a lie, is a lie!" And if someone won't say it, those of us who know that there is such a thing as the truth must do whatever is in our power to diminish the liar's malignant reach into our society.

There is one group of people who can do a lot - very quickly. And that is Republicans in Congress. Without their support, Donald Trump's presidency will falter. So here is what I think everyone in the press must do. If you are interviewing a Paul Ryan, a Mitch McConnell, or any other GOP elected official, the first question must be "what will you do to combat the lying from the White House?" If they dodge and weave, keep with the follow ups. And if they refuse to give a satisfactory answer, end the interview.

Facts and the truth are not partisan. They are the bedrock of our democracy. And you are either with them, with us, with our Constitution, our history, and the future of our nation, or you are against it. Everyone must answer that question.

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Definitions of some of the terms used in the media to describe Donald J. Trump and/or his words and actions 

lie - a false statement made with intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood; something intended or serving to convey a false impression

dishonest - not honest; disposed to lie cheat or steal; proceeding from or exhibiting a lack of honesty; fraudulent

fraudulent - given to or using fraud, as a person; cheating; dishonest

misleading - to lead or guide wrongly; lead astray; to lead into error of conduct, thought, or judgement

[Paul Hamlyn Publishing Group, 1971, Encyclopedic World Dictionary, editors Hanks, P & Potter S]

While Trump pleads for money ACLU receives six times its annual donations in a single day

The Committee to Defend the President (a project of the Republican Stop Hillary Hybrid PAC¹ which raised money to assist Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign) is again seeking donations and expressions of support for Trump:

https://soundcloud.com/user-932995833/djtcommitteetodefendthepresident

Mirror UK, 29 January 2017:

Donald Trump's presidency is under attack from the crooked media - that was the bizarre message beamed into millions of homes last night, urging supporters to call a phone number to help.

The vaguely sinister advert warns Trump's agenda to tear up the Affordable Healthcare Act, slash taxes for corporations and spend billions of US taxpayers cash are under "vicious attack".

In a shouty, robotic voice, it insists: "They think they are going to destroy Trump's Presidency - but THEY ARE WRONG."

It goes on to claim Democrats are setting up a "war room" to undermine the President, but doesn't really explain what that means.

And in a tone reminiscent of a TV infomercial, it warns "time is running out" and urges people to call a toll free number to prove Trump has the "overwhelming support of the American people."

Video of the deeply weird clip quickly spread on social media with confused Americans questioning why a sitting President appeared to be in campaign mode…..

You may think Donald Trump isn't a candidate any more, but you'd be wrong.

On the day of Trump's inauguration, he registered with the Federal Elections Committee as a candidate in the 2020 Presidential election. He's legally running for re-election already.

Is that unusual?

Yep. Nobody's ever registered as a candidate in the next election before their Presidency has started in the history of the United States.

Image found at @resisterhood

The Hill, 30 January 2017:

The American Civil Liberties Union received more than $24 million in donations over the weekend after the ACLU sued over President Trump’s executive order blocking refugees and people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.

The donations are roughly six times what the ACLU normally receives in one year, CNN reported. 

About 356,306 people contributed $24,164,691 to the organization this weekend, CNN reported.

A spokesman said the group ran “one last set of numbers” at the end of the night on Sunday that brought  the total to more than $24.1 million, CNN reported.

Officials have called the swift rise in donations “unprecedented.” An organization official, in an interview in CNN, had just one word to describe the rise in donations: “Wow.”

The organization is also reporting  a rise in membership since the start of the Trump administration.

Yahoo News reported ACLU membership rose from 400,000 to more than 1 million since the election. 

Given that during the 2016 presidential election allegedly over US$8 million of campaign money raised through political donations ended up in the bank accounts of Trump businesses, it is not hard to guess why Trump has declared his second candidacy so early.

NOTES:

1. The Stop Hillary PAC was one of three co-filing a lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court in December 2016, seeking to stop the Wisconsin vote recount after the November 2016 presidential election.

Australian Health Minister admits abusing her parliamentary entitlements

Sussan Ley admitted the error of her ways once she was found out, but then tries to restrict any investigation of her ministerial use of car and air travel allowances to only those trips to and from the Gold Coast area in Queensland.

Media Statement*

I have spent the past 48 hours examining my travel records.

I travelled to Brisbane on 9 May 2015 to make a major announcement about the availability of new medicines at a specialist breast cancer clinic and to meet with patients in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast. As I had to be in Canberra on Sunday 10 May I decided to stay the night of 9 May on the Gold Coast rather than incur considerable extra expense by flying back to Albury and then to Canberra the following day. This travel is within the rules provided.

However, I have always sought to apply higher standards for myself in using valuable taxpayers’ funds.

While attending an auction was not the reason for my visit to Queensland or the Gold Coast, I completely understand this changed the context of the travel undertaken. The distinction between public and private business should be as clear as possible when dealing with taxpayers’ money.

I have spoken to the Prime Minister and he agrees that this claim does not meet the high standards he expects of Ministers. I apologise for the error of judgement.

Tomorrow I will ask the Department of Finance to invoice me for the costs for the car and travel allowance claimed on Saturday 9 May 2015, including the relevant penalty applied to erroneous claims.

My examination of my travel records has also brought to my attention two other claims for accommodation on the Gold Coast in 2014 and 2015 where I should have stayed and claimed in Brisbane, as well as a single one-way flight from Coolangatta to Canberra in June 2015.

I will also ask the Department of Finance to invoice me the costs of these claims, as well as the relevant penalty.

In the interests of total transparency, I will ask the department to review all my ministerial travel to the Gold Coast.

As a member of federal parliament for over fifteen years Sussan Ley well knew the rules regarding parliamentary entitlements. 

If Ms. Ley wishes to be fully transparent then all her travel claims since she first entered the ministry on 18 September 2013 should be audited.

* Undated but believed to be on or about 8 January 2017

#NotMyDebt: those who feel able begin to fight back

Those not overwhelmed by the less than transparent and sometimes aggressive approach Centrelink is taking to queries about or denial of debts being raised by its obviously flawed automated debt recovery process are beginning to push back.......

Click on page images to enlarge

*Daniel Livesey is a web designer and video editor who is employed by a company with extensive experience working with ACT Government and the Australian Government on information campaigns, annual and general reports, promotional products, websites and multimedia projects.

SBS News, 4 January 2016:

Ngarrindjeri elder Elaine Kropinyeri from Mount Gambier in South Australia told SBS News Centrelink had recently cleared her of a $7800 debt, citing an “internal mistake”.

Ms Elaine Kropiyeri said she had not worked for two-and-a-half years after she resigned for “personal reasons” as a cultural consultant at a local foster care service in Mount Gambier, and successfully applied for Centrelink’s NewStart Allowance.

She said she discovered the so-called debt after Centrelink informed her she had been overpaid, in a separate matter, by $600. According to Ms Kropiyeri, Centrelink did not explain how the overpayment had been calculated, but deducted $464 from her regular payments towards the debt.

“It was absolutely terrifying…when you’re on a very meagre income, barely surviving,” she said.

Ms Kropiyeri found the $7800 in an obscure area of her MyGov Centrelink online account while trying to understand her debt notice. This figure, according to Ms Kropiyeri, didn't appear in the usual 'deductions' section.

“They didn’t even send me a letter,” she said.

“If I didn't accidentally come across it the way I did, they would still be deducting from my meagre income.”

Subsequently, Ms Kropiyeri received a statement on November 29 confirming her fears that the larger sum was in fact owing. With the notice showing $7154.52 was still to be repaid, she was able to work out Centrelink had been deducting part of her payment without her knowledge for this larger debt.

…… When Ms Kropiyeri enquired to Centrelink over the phone about the disputed amount owing, she said the staff member could not explain it.

“I am still unsure how this [debt] came to be because, as I said, I hadn't worked and did my reporting every fortnight.”

She was referred to a specialists team where a staff member said the onus was on her to explain the debt to Centrelink.

“But it’s [their] department that determines what overpayments that need to be distributed - I don’t have access to their computers.”

Because she was sure she did not owe any amount, she said she told Centrelink she would take her case to the Ombudsman's Office and ended the phone call.

Within half an hour they called her back to tell her the debt had been waived because of an “internal mistake”.

“I know my rights, so I stood up, tooth and nail, to them.”

* Last time I looked Ngarrindjeri elder Elaine Kropinyeri had been a resident in the Mt. Gambier area for over 30 years and was the inaugural recipient of the NAIDOC award for a lifetime achievement of contribution to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the South East in 2012.

Advice being offered in the media.......

The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 January 2016:

Graham Wells, principal lawyer at Social Security Rights Victoria, which provides legal advice and help for people battling various Centrelink complaints, says the organisation has been run off its feet in the wake of the debt-recovery saga plaguing the agency over the summer break……

So what should you do if you get a letter saying you owe the department money?

Mr Wells says in the first instance, people suspecting their debt assessment is incorrect should go to their nearest Centrelink office, the MyGov website or, "if you're willing to chance it, on the phone", and ask to have their debt reviewed.

Delegated decision makers within Centrelink, called Authorised Review Officers, are authorised to review department decisions on behalf of the minister. They might decide the debt does not exist, is correct, is too low, or is too high.

This can take between two and six months but Mr Wells suggested that, to speed things up, people could regularly call Centrelink to check on the matter, or go to their local MP and make regular representations there.

Mr Wells said if people were still not happy with Centrelink's internal decision-making processes, they could make an application under Freedom of Information laws for the department to release the documents it holds on their supposed debt to them.

"You want to be as specific as possible," he said. "Ask for all documents it holds relating to this debt between this and that date."

Debt collection agencies employed by Centrelink to recover debts have been applying a 10 per cent fee to recover debts related in inaccurate reporting.

"I think it's wrong; I think it's very entrepreneurial on their part," Mr Wells said.

It is, however, legal - although Mr Wells said consumers challenging their debts often had the 10 per cent fee set aside.

Mr Wells suggests that anyone faced with demands from a third-party for repayments go to their local post office and make the smallest repayment they can afford directly to Centrelink, to cut debt recovery agencies out of the loop. He said if it was later found their debt was invalid, Centrelink should return the money.

Finally, people can apply to the social services and child support division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which can review Centrelink decisions that have first been reviewed internally.

Victoria Legal Aid executive director of civil justice Dan Nicholson urged anyone who received a letter from Centrelink they believed to be incorrect to get free legal advice from Legal Aid or other organisations across the country.

"Even if you don't have all the information Centrelink asks of you, we advise you to respond to the letter, so you are able to push your side of the story," he said.

"If Centrelink does make a decision that you disagree with, such as you have a debt, I encourage you to challenge the decision – and you have a very good chance of success."

Internal Centrelink figures show that before the agency introduced its debt recovery system, 37.5 per cent of its decisions were revised after internal reviews.